High cost of drive-offs

06 December, 2005

Page 8

Drive-off fuel thieves stole £1.2m worth of petrol in Leicestershire last year, a survey has revealed.

According to a poll of 25 outlets – conducted by The Leicester Mercury newspaper – some forecourts were hit up to three times a week, and thieves were rarely caught because the quality of CCTV footage was not good enough. One service station in the city had been hit an average of four times a week, with a persistent offender even resorting to disguises such as beards and moustaches.A police spokesman said: “Many CCTV cameras are just not good enough, and we can’t investigate on a partial registration. More than 80% of images could not be used.”